In Touch with iOS, is a podcast that talks about iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Apple TV and related technologies, tips, apps, and gear. Hosted by Dave Ginsburg and joined by different guests from the Apple Community each week.

Dave took one for the team and got himself a HomePod, so we dig
deep and discuss why it should or should not be your personal
assistant. We discuss apps for managing podcasts, third-party
keyboards, spam caller blocking, and camera tweaks. We also cover
apps that repurpose your devices in fun ways. Full show notes are
at InTouchwithiOS.com

Dave concludes that HomePod is great for those who live fairly
exclusively in the Apple ecosystem. If you are an Apple user with a
discerning taste for sound, and this will be your first speaker,
then go for it! The sound is amazing and the internal microphone
recognition is uncontested. Unfortunately, there were more
downsides than value for Dave to keep the HomePod. It could not
compete with other devices that already suit Dave’s personal
assistant needs. There is no Spotify or SiriusXM — it’s Apple
Music all the way and will likely remain that way. You can’t make
phone calls or manage your calendar from HomePod. As Melissa points
out, it really doesn’t seem like it’s a family-friendly product at
this time as there are no distinguished voices. While it may
currently disappoint on features, the hardware is impeccably
crafted giving it great potential to be more than just another
assistant in a can. We think HomePod can only get better and we
look forward to future iterations.

Melissa discusses her recent presentation at her local Mac
Users’ Group on the topic of podcatchers. We will keep evaluating
these apps for you, our dear listeners, and report our observations
so you can make informed choices.

Meta: 022 Five Days with HomePod was
recorded February 21, 2018. “Please
Listen Carefully” byJahzzaris
licensed underCC
BY-SA 4.0. “In Touch with iOS” is an independently
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authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Inc. iOS is a
trademark or registered trademark of Cisco in the U.S. All other
Apple Inc. trademarks discussed are the property of Apple Inc. A
full list of Apple trademarks is availablehere. Google Play and the Google Play logo are
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About the Podcast

In Touch with iOS, is a podcast that talks about iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Apple TV and related technologies, tips, apps, and gear. Hosted by Dave Ginsburg and joined by different guests from the Apple Community each week.